Triangle Hospitals Get Strong Safety Scores

Hospitals in the Triangle were consistently graded high in patient safety.

The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit health organization, uses 30 measures of hospital safety data to grade health systems. It assigns letter grades to make the grades simpler to understand.

Leapfrog gave all of the area's hospitals an A except WakeMed Health and Hospitals in Raleigh, which received a B.

Leapfrog Group spokeswoman Erica Mobley said patient safety errors include accidents, injuries and preventable infections and that those errors are the third leading cause of death in the country.

"It is something that's very serious," Mobley said. "These are the things that no one intends to happen in the hospital, but unfortunately do happen with alarming frequency."

North Carolina ranked sixth in the nation in patient safety. That's based on the percentage of hospitals receiving an A or B grade.

Hospitals in the Triangle have consistently received high grades since Leapfrog began its rating system in 2012. Only UNC Rex, however, has received straight A’s; it is one of 63 hospitals nationwide with that distinction. UNC Rex is the Raleigh hospital wholly owned by the UNC Health Care System.

"Across the UNC Health Care system, we strive to provide all of our patients and their families with the best and safest care," said Dr. Bill Roper, CEO of UNC Health Care. "… We're proud that Leapfrog includes our hospitals among the nation’s safest."

Are you about to have a medical procedure? Have you chosen a provider yet? Before you do, you might consider taking a look at what the procedure will cost. Blue Cross-Blue Shield of North Carolina now has an easy online tool to help you do just that.

We used the tool to search for a variety of common procedures. The user can enter a town or zip code, and the number of miles s/he is willing to travel.